The novel CDK9 inhibitor, XPW1, alone and in combination with BRD4 inhibitor JQ1, for the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a highly lethal malignancy with few therapeutic options. Cyclin‑dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), a potential therapeutic target of many cancers, has been recently observed to be upregulated in ccRCC patients. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of CDK9 in ccRCC and develop a novel CDK9 inhibitor with low toxicity for ccRCC treatment.

Discovery of 4-((3,4-dichlorophenyl)amino)-2-methylquinolin-6-ol derivatives as EGFR and HDAC dual inhibitors.

In patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the standard therapy consists of selective tyrosine kinase inhibitors that target epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR). Nonetheless, their clinical utility is primarily limited by the development of resistance to drugs. HDAC inhibitors have been shown in studies to reduce the level of EGFR that is expressed and downregulate the EGFR-induced phosphorylation of AKT and ERK.

Inhibition of Nur77 expression and translocation by compound B6 reduces ER stress and alleviates cigarette smoke-induced inflammation and injury in bronchial epithelial cells.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death worldwide with inflammation and injury in airway epithelial cells. However, few treatment options effectively reduce severity. We previously found that Nur77 is involved in lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation and injury of lung tissue.

Design and synthesis of N-(1-(6-(substituted phenyl)-pyridazin-3-yl)-piperidine-3-yl)-amine derivatives as JMJD6 inhibitors.

JMJD6 is a member of the JmjC domain-containing family and has been identified as a promising therapeutic target for treating estrogen-induced and triple-negative breast cancer. To develop novel anti-breast cancer agents, we synthesized a class of N-(1-(6-(substituted phenyl)-pyridazine-3-yl)-piperidine-3-yl)-amine derivatives as potential JMJD6 inhibitors. Among them, the anti-cancer compound A29 was an excellent JMJD6 binder (K = 0.

Design and synthesis of adamantyl-substituted flavonoid derivatives as anti-inflammatory Nur77 modulators: Compound B7 targets Nur77 and improves LPS-induced inflammation in vitro and in vivo.

In continuing our study on discovering new Nur77-targeting anti-inflammatory agents with natural skeletons, we combined adamantyl group and hydroxamic acid moiety with flavonoid nucleus, synthesized three series of flavonoid derivatives with a similar structure like CD437, and evaluated their activities against LPS-induced inflammation. Compound B7 was found to be an excellent Nur77 binder (K = 3.55 × 10 M) and a potent inhibitor of inflammation, which significantly decreased the production of cytokines in vitro, such as NO, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, at concentrations of 1.

Carrier-free nanoparticles of camptothecin prodrug for chemo-photothermal therapy: the making, in vitro and in vivo testing.

Background: Nanoscale drug delivery systems have emerged as broadly applicable approach for chemo-photothermal therapy. However, these nanoscale drug delivery systems suffer from carrier-induced toxicity, uncontrolled drug release and low drug carrying capacity issues. Thus, to develop carrier-free nanoparticles self-assembled from amphiphilic drug molecules, containing photothermal agent and anticancer drug, are very attractive.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 5-((4-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-yl)amino)-1-Indole-2-Carbohydrazide derivatives: the methuosis inducer 12A as a Novel and selective anticancer agent.

This study describes the synthesis and vacuole-inducing activity of 5-((4-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-yl)amino)-1-indole-2-carbohydrazide derivatives, including five potent derivatives , , , , and that exhibit excellent vacuole-inducing activity. Remarkably, effectively induces methuosis in tested cancer cells but not human normal cells. In addition, exhibits high pan-cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines but is hardly toxic to normal cells.

Discovery of new chalone adamantyl arotinoids having RXRα-modulating and anticancer activities.

In the present study, a new series of chalcone adamantly arotinoids (chalcone AdArs) derived from RAR antagonist MX781, are synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for the biological activities in vitro. The studies of antiproliferative activity and RXRα-binding affinity of target compounds result in the discovery of a lead candidate (WA15), which is a good RXRα binder (K = 2.89 × 10 M) with potent antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines (IC ≈ 10 μM) and low toxic to normal LO2 and MRC-5 cells (IC > 50 μM).

Synthesis and discovery of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid- alkanolamine (PUFA-AA) derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents targeting Nur77.

In this work, three series of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-alkanolamine derivatives (PUFA-AAs) were synthesized, characterized and their anti-inflammatory activity in vivo was evaluated. Compounds 4a, 4f, and 4k exhibited marked anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of methylenehydrazine-1-carboxamide derivatives with (5-((4-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-yl)amino)-1H-indole scaffold: Novel potential CDK9 inhibitors.

In continuation of our previous work on the investigation of CDK9 inhibitors bearing indole moiety for the discovery of novel anticancer agents, novel methylenehydrazine-1-carboxamide derivatives with (5-((4-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-yl)amino)-1H-indole scaffold were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for the CDK9 inhibitory activity and anticancer activity. Biological activity results demonstrated that most of these derivatives possessed good inhibitory on the kinase activity of CDK9 such as blocking its phosphorylation function and inhibiting HIV-1 transcription. Compound 12i was found to be the most potent CDK9 inhibitor and exhibited excellent anticancer activity against HepG2, A375, MCF-7, and A549, but low toxic on normal cells including HaCaT and MCF-10A.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of AV6 derivatives as novel dual reactivators of latent HIV-1.

The "shock and kill" strategy might be a promising therapeutic approach for HIV/AIDS due to the existence of latent viral reservoirs. A major challenge of the "shock and kill" strategy arises from the general lack of clinically effective latency-reversing agents (LRAs). The 2-methylquinoline derivative, antiviral 6 (AV6) has been reported to induce latent HIV-1 expression and act synergistically with a HDAC inhibitor VA to reverse HIV latency.

A chalcone derivative reactivates latent HIV-1 transcription through activating P-TEFb and promoting Tat-SEC interaction on viral promoter.

The principal barrier to the eradication of HIV/AIDS is the existence of latent viral reservoirs. One strategy to overcome this barrier is to use latency-reversing agents (LRAs) to reactivate the latent proviruses, which can then be eliminated by effective anti-retroviral therapy. Although a number of LRAs have been found to reactivate latent HIV, they have not been used clinically due to high toxicity and poor efficacy.

PEG-lipid-PLGA hybrid nanoparticles loaded with berberine-phospholipid complex to facilitate the oral delivery efficiency.

The natural product berberine (BBR), present in various plants, arouses great interests because of its numerous pharmacological effects. However, the further development and application of BBR had been hampered by its poor oral bioavailability. In this work, we report on polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (PEG-lipid-PLGA NPs) loaded with BBR phospholipid complex using a solvent evaporation method for enhancing the oral BBR efficiency.

Synthesis, structure-activity relationship studies and biological evaluation of novel 2,5-disubstituted indole derivatives as anticancer agents.

Three novel series of 2,5-disubstituted indole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their antiproliferative activity against human cancer cells and HIV-1 inhibition activity used as a readout of cellular activity. Most compounds were found to have potent anticancer activity. In particular, 2c and 3b which showed effectively to repress HIV-1 transcription had a pan antiproliferative activity in cervical cancer cells (HeLa), breast cancer cells (MCF-7), liver cancer cells (HepG2), and lung cancer cells (H460 and A549).